South Island Contribution Visa

Tuesday 23 May 2017

If you have been in New Zealand for 5 years holding an Essential Skills Work Visa and you are aged 55 and under, you may be eligible to apply for a South Island Contribution Work Visa. This visa is intended to provide a one-off pathway to residency for around 1600 migrant workers who have been living in the South Island for more than 5 years.

The reason why South Island is targeted is that there are lower unemployment rates in the South Island and around half of the long term temporary migrants in the lower skilled occupations live in the South Island.

This pathway allows workers who have not been able to meet residency criteria otherwise under the Skilled Migrant category to apply for NZ residency. They are people who may have been in occupations which are not considered of a high enough level to apply to be on the list of Skilled Occupations. Alternatively, these applicants may not have enough English to qualify for application under the Skilled Migrant category.

This opportunity is only available until 23 May 2018. All applicants must apply before that date. If they apply for the South Island Contribution Work Visa, they may then qualify for a South Island Contribution Resident Visa after two years. At that point they can also include their family in the application for residency.

In summary, while the South Island Contribution Visa is not as attractive as what the government originally announced, it remains a one-off opportunity for many workers who have been in New Zealand for some time, or not otherwise qualify for residency. It is important to consider whether you qualify for this. Contact us for further information.